The Civil Rights Movement: The Right to Educational Equity Race has long been an issue in the United States dating back to colonization. The idea of "race" began to take shape with the rise of a world political economy, the conquest of the Americas, and the rise of the Atlantic slave trade (Winant, H., 2000). Fast forward to the 21st century, where many chose to believe that the election of a Black president for two terms substantiates that race is no longer an issue in the United States. However, due to long periods of injustices and institutional policies, practices and culture, racism is entrenched in our society. Race and racism continues to permeate our everyday lives whether we chose to acknowledge its stronghold or its pervasiveness. Although racism is prominent in all aspects of our society, for the purpose of this writing, I will explore the Civil Rights Movement as it relates to education equity for people of color. The history of education is filled with segregation, bias, and inequalities for people of color and the poor. The problems of education inequality are deeply rooted throughout American history. Under slavery, the education of African Americans was forbidden. In Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of Southern state laws requiring ‘separate but equal’ racial segregation in public facilities. Facilities were separate, but they were all but equal. Education for Blacks was inferior to that of White
